Score one for Spore

I think Spore is a wonderful way to get kids involved in their own learning. Today teachers find themselves with the responsibility of teaching a multitude of subject areas with limited time. Spore would be a wonderful tool to use to integrate not only all of the science areas such as biology, chemistry and physics, but it would also be a wonderful tool to use for social studies integration. Spore is a wonderful option for "learning through" while in a classroom setting.

SPORE

Looking at Spore, I was impressed with the imagination that it takes to create a program like this. You really have to think child-like, and I am sure that the creators did-their pure creativity shows! What a neat way for students and children to learn more about evoluation. I know that the kids would love to create their own goofy, made-up characters and while they did this, they would sneakily be learning a lot. Technology makes it so much easier for teachers and parents to help kids learn (even when they think they are just having fun). I too, remember playing games in Technology class that I thought were just plain fun-like Oregon Trail-not realizing all the learning that was taking place!

I hope to be able to integrate fun games and activities like this in my classroom in the future.

Where Imagination Can Take You

It really is quite amazing how one person or a group of people can dream up a concept, work on it for several years, make improvement upon improvement, and then make the dream a reality. This, in and of itself, would be a great example of what a positive and outstanding work ethic really is. I believe that our students of today need to be schooled on this subject, even to quite a large extent as this mentality is somewhat lacking! Additionally, the connection between the spore game and the content areas of science is quite straightforward, but for some of the other academic disciplines, I think it will be a little bit more of a stretch, even though I'm sure it could be done. I love the final comment made in the second video on the science behind the game; people will think of the world differently as a result of playing this game. If indeed this is true, then I think all students should have some interaction with this game during class time. Also, every teacher, in my eyes, has the obligation to emphasize the importance of being good, solid citizens within their communities, and if this philosophy can somehow be reinforced by interacting with this game, then I'm all for it!

Evolution, Environment and Society/Economics

I think this game could be very useful in the classroom when discussing evolution. I agree with Will's comments that it's hard to imagine 50 or 100 years from now and it's even harder for kids (and adults) to imagine 100 million years ago. Through this game they can play with evolution, see how things may have happened if our evolution took a different course-or see how things may be happening on another planet. I also really liked how kids can make changes to Co2 emissions and show those effects on the planet-this of course is a huge issue today and is a great illustration of where we could be headed if we don't change our course. Last, kids could talk about societal issues and economics. Why do the creatures form alliances with each other, and later go from one village to another? I am sure there are other subjects that this game lends itself to, these are just the first few that came to mind. I will use this in my future class if possible and I know the students will love it!

Spore is not "sporing"!

Spore is one of those games that is really flexible and open to different students and different learners. I remember one of the funnest computer games in school was playing Oregon Trail. You could choose to have one kid on the journey or 5 kids. You could give the kids medicine when they got sick, or allow them to die. You could go hunting for animals to eat and decide which route to take.
When I was playing some of Spore it gave me that same sense of freedom that kids (and some adults) really enjoy in games. I think that the Spore concept is very similar to it's predecessors of Sim City, because it allows the player to create or destroy and really experiment with real-life concepts.
Spore would really be a great way for students to explore the idea of evolution and also allow them to take another look at animals and environments that they perhaps have over looked. I created this creature with huge claws and a big spiky tail, so it would've been interesting to play the full game and see what progressions could be made, and perhaps how strong my creature would've survived.
Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 or 6 boys from my old school that would really get into a game like this because it allows them to create, and I can already imagine them creating silly creatures, big creatures, etc. When you give students a "no-limit" environment for learning, they will come up with new discoveries, and a deeper appreciation than they would have if a teacher or text book had given them the information. I hope that my classroom has several computers with games like Spore because it is limitless and interesting; and oh yeah, educational too!

Spore

I think Spore is a wonderful way to integrate technology into the educational environment. Both young children and teenagers enjoy technology and want to learn more and become immersed in this dimension. There are several platforms that you can choose to incorporate Spore into your classroom. One important message that the creator stressed was sociology. He seemed to try to replicate real life experiences. The more exposure that students have to the real life they will be much more comfortable and willing to adapt when they hit the real world. It provides an interdisciplinary approach to learning sociology meets science is just one approach.